Rowane pops off another channel before moving out of fire ball formation.
Machi-e sends the air elemental slamming up at the drake.
Machi-e brings up a flask of acid and casts Acid Splash at the drake, using the flask as a focus.
Round 4 (ongoing):
Initiative order
Cora-acted/down
Machi-e-acted
Rowane-acted
Drake-acted
Nezos
The drake focuses its entire attention on Nezos, but the half-elf blocks its jaws with his shield. Its tail slips under the shield, though, catching Nezos .
Nezos tries to give back as good as he got with his enlarged sword.
Tries being the operative word, as usual.
Machi-e's elemental misses, but the arcanist gets some acid onto the drake. Nezos is off-balance from the tail blow and likewise can't connect.
Round 5:
Initiative order
Cora-
Machi-e-
Rowane-
Drake-
Nezos
Rowane casts a healing spell and moves over to Nezo's to pass along the magic.
Cora gasps as Rowane's wave of healing washes over her, and she rolls to one side, instinctively trying to get out of the way of any attack. She takes a second to take in the situation- pretty much the same as when she'd been taken down- and launches another shot up at the drake's belly.
Machi-e peers into the future and frowns at some bad luck, setting it aside. He nods at the air elemental, who attacks the drake again.
The acid on the drake sizzles for an extra round.
As it worked well the first time, Machi-e sights along his acid vial and shoots another glurt of acid at the drake, after getting a better shot at the beast.
Round 5 (ongoing):
Initiative order
Cora-acted
Machi-e-acted
Rowane-acted
Drake-acted
Nezos
Cora vanishes, and Rowane cures the damage the drake inflicted on Nezos. Machi-e continues to splash acid on the drake, who is looking like it's not long for this world. His elemental does a bit more damage. But the drake remains active and dangerous. The half-elf is ready for a tail blow and dodges it; the drake, however, sinks its fangs deep into his body.
Staggering and burned, Nezos still tries to keep the drake's attention.
Rowane concentrates and sacrifices some divine energy to heal Nezos
Apparently expecting Nezos to fall before its attack, the drake is already beginning to turn its attention elsewhere, leaving an opening for the fighter. Nezos' blade finds a gap in its armor and lays open some vital vessel in its neck, sending blood spraying across the floor of the amphitheater. It falls.
The Baroness and her guards, together with her son, quickly approach. "Thank you once again for your timely assistance. I shudder to think of how many of my villagers would have been lost."
It is at this point that first Cora and Rowane, and then the rest of the party, catch a whiff of something rotten, like decaying meat. Before you can react, a thunderous roar from the east splits the air. Its source: a vast shape even now crawling up onto the roof of the large house nearest the amphitheater. It is a dragon--one that might once have been black, but its scales are ragged and greying, its eyes are milky white, and its muscles are exposed in spots beneath torn flesh. The smell of rot is now overpowering. It roars again, and begins to speak.
"I am Aeteperax, Lord of Dragonfen, and you have exhausted my patience. The wizard Hunclay promised me many things before his death, including five rare and ancient tomes. I made efforts to obtain these lawfully, but my representative, Clausyre, failed me. My forbearance is at an end.
"Now I require not only the books, including the tome entitled Secrets of the Dreaming Dark, but also an indemnity of 776,000 gold pieces—2,000 for each and every resident of this dunghill you call home.
"I give you two weeks to deliver these to the place you know as the Monastery of Saint Kyerixus across the Dragonfen.
"None are permitted to leave Belhaim—my minions blanket the countryside, and all who dare leave this town shall suffer for it. Only those chosen to deliver my ransom may travel, and then only into Dragonfen.
"Should you defy me or fail to satisfy my demands, I shall lay waste to little Belhaim and kill every living inhabitant, down to the last mewling infant."
With that, it launches itself into the air on shredded wings, casts a spell, and vanishes with a clap of displaced air. For a moment no one can say anything, and then panic sets in. Screaming and crying, most of the remaining townsfolk flee to their homes.
"Well, this is a new turn of events" Rowane says staring up to where the dragon disappeared from. "Do we pay the thing or not?"
Rowane is reasonably sure that unless a lot of people are lying to the temple about their income and holdings, there isn't enough money in liquid assets in the village to afford the dragon's demand*.
Rowane shakes his head as the figures are not adding up in the town's favor. "There is not enough funds to meet the demands from the dragon. Perhaps we can reason with the beast or reason with the beast he says patting his crossbow"
”Hardly fair for the townsfolk,” sniffs Machi-e, ”To be lumped in with this evil wizard; so presumptive!”
He considers. ”We should get the book; we need to bargain, though. If we hand over the book, that draconic undead thing, if that’s what it is, will just blast us.”
"We had enough trouble with that drake," Nezos says, shaking his head. He turns to the Baroness, if she's still present. "But there isn't much else for it. How do you think we should proceed? An attack, I assume, but from what angle?"
"An undead black dragon--very large, a great wyrm. And that spell didn't make sense. I wonder if it is in relation to these portals the grioth made, or some other Dark Tapestry nonsense." The Mwangi rubs his chin.
In the aftermath of the attacks and the dragon's appearance, the auction's final sale is put on hold. Baroness Origena invites you to her manor, along with several locals whose advice she values--Sheriff Benhovy; a local stabler (and former adventurer) named Lezara Dodgion; Rowane's superior, High Priestess Eupaphenia Targas; and Bassy the historian.
Cora shakes her head. "The four of us attacking an undead, sentient great wyrm? We might as well just cover ourselves in sauce and line up to be eaten." She lowers her voice, so those milling around couldn't hear. "I'm pretty sure I know what books he was talking about. But unless this town has a lake of holy water I don't know what we could possibly do against that dragon."
The meeting takes place in a cozy sitting room in Devy Manor. The baroness doesn't waste time, and asks Eupaphenia what Belhaim could scrape together by pooling all its resources. Rowane's superior confirms the cleric's initial intuition, answering "Around 20,000 gold pieces. Even if we included everything from the auction--an unlawful act, but under the circumstances defensible as a forced loan--we would have no more than 100,000 gold pieces."
Baroness Origena nods, unsurprised. "I'm open to suggestions." The Sheriff mutters something about sending the Shelynites out to distract the dragon and maybe lower the ransom.
This does not go over well. He recovers with a more realistic idea about sending raven messengers to some larger towns in the area, requesting aid. Eupaphenia suggests negotiating with the dragon to pay in installments.
"We have two weeks to read through the tomes. Does this town have any other arcanists who might be able to understand them? Why don't we go find Clausyre and get the truth out of him? Perhaps there is a weakness to be found in the tomes that the dragon wants to hide. Perhaps there is a ceremony he wishes to enact, that we can spoil, while he is vulnerable."
Machi-e steeples his fingers. "We need to think of our own bargaining powers. If we hide the books and threaten to destroy them if he kills townsfolk, he may reconsider. Unless he himself wants to destroy the books. Which doesn't quite make sense; he would have just set fire to Hunclay's manor or dropped it in the ocean. To my mind, the contents are what he is after, and he does not know entirely what they are, otherwise he would not need the books. Therefore, either a previously unknown weakness, or a previously unknown advantage, for this dragon."
"My cynical side foresees a dragon attack. But I'll gladly pursue other any avenue before it comes to that," Nezos says uneasily. He looks at his sword, wishing it was better for the task at hand despite its already abnormal size. "The towns in range of your ravens, might they have anyone who could help us divine meaning from these books?"
"I would be interested to see whether its minions really do 'blanket the countryside.' I'd be a lot more willing to try something clever if we could evacuate the town."
The gnome, Bassy, shakes her head vigorously enough to dislodge a few clips from her pink-tinted hair. "I think you're all missing a possibility. Why don't we just kill it?"
"My first talent, my first thought," Nezos replies. "We're plenty capable, I'll admit, but never underestimate a dragon. Are there any more fighters among our number who could help? That could swing the tide, but it would still do best as a backup plan."
"Kill it?" Machi-e looks somewhat stunned.
"That was an enormous, ancient, undead dragon. It has magic we don't even know about..."
Machi-e thinks for a moment.
"Unless..."
He crosses his arms. "Let's go look at that roof, where it landed. It landed, it stank, we heard it...but the spell it used to leave wasn't a spell at all...what if the damned wyrm was just an illusion?"
The gnome smiles as she gets her hair back under control. "There might be a dragon behind it, but what we saw tonight? That was definitely an illusion."
Machi-e nods at the gnome. "Do you have any proof? Gnomes are good with illusions; I am not."
"Well then, it definitely fooled me. Rowane states.
"Oh, the smell and the sight were well done, I admit. I’ve been around for a long, long time, though, and one thing I’ve learned is that inexperienced illusionists tend to rely on overwhelming one’s eyes and ears, but often forget the details. I was there. I saw the dragon. I heard it speak and roar, and smelled the decay of its body.
"But I didn’t see it draw breath before it spoke. I didn’t hear its talons scraping stone. I didn’t feel the air stir when its wings unfurled. Certainly whoever or whatever we face has great power—if that truly was just an illusion, it was still a powerful magical effect.
"For all we know, it could even be a dragon—that certainly fits with what you learned from the kobolds. The name Aeteperax is an old one, but the original Aeteperax’s bones should still be out there in Dragonfen, coiled around the Crypt of Tula Belhaim. At the very least, if you can confirm those bones are still there, then it seems obvious that what we all saw tonight wasn’t really Aeteperax risen from the dead." She clears her throat. "Also, if that really was an undead great wyrm, it would not have deigned to threaten, nor would it have sent an agent to find those books. It would have simply killed every one of us."
The Baroness takes a deep breath. "I can’t offer a monetary reward sufficient to lure you into undertaking a mission of this nature. However, I must ask: Will you slay this dragon--or whatever it is--for Belhaim? If you succeed, I shall raise each of you to the rank of Knight of Taldor. Little Belhaim and its inhabitants may well be lost if you don’t prevail. What say you?"
Cora looks at the other non-residents of Belhaim who she has been working with. "If this is not a dragon- if it is someone who needs to resort to subterfuge to acquire these books rather than force- then I am certain between us we can end this." She looks back at the Baroness. "If we go to this tomb, though, and find Aeteperax's bones gone, presumably animated and after these books," the feathered aasimar shakes her head, "then I don't know that we can prevail."
"I think the best we can do is promise we will try."
Nezos shakes his head in disbelief. "Well, that's a relief. The danger may still be grave. But yes, this we can certainly try."
"I like a mystery, myself. This was a gigantic bluff, and I think we should go call it."
He bows to the Baroness. "Does the title of knight entitle one to land? For that will be payment indeed. I've dreamt of a cottage or two and a garden between them, to grow various exotic plants. With climate controlled by magic, of course..." The Mwangi arcanist looks almost rapt at the idea of cultivating odd leafy things from seed, no doubt magical and rare.
The informal town council breathes a collective sigh of relief. The Baroness looks around at her advisors, considering. "You carry our hopes with you...and some more tangible blessings, as well. Under the circumstances, you may have the use of any of the magic items sold at auction. Either you'll return them when your quest is complete, or it won't matter."
The Sheriff grumbles a bit as he sees which way the wind is blowing, but eventually relents and takes off a plain silver ring, passing it over to the party. "It's got a decently strong protective enchantment on it. When you're done, I'd like it back."
Lezara Dodgion calls one of the servants over. "Bring me my sword." Once the sheathed bastard sword has been retrieved from the cloakroom, she gazes for a moment at the worn hilt, then draws it. With a word, the blade is wreathed in flames. She sheathes it in a smooth motion and hands it over to Nezos. "You'll likely need this more than I. Use it well--it's been of great use to me over the years."
Rowane's superior smiles, raising a hand in benediction over the party. "In addition to having Rowane continue to work with you, any spellcasting services the Temple can provide will be free while the emergency lasts."
Last of all, the gnome takes an ancient brass key on a leather cord from around her neck. "This is an inheritance of sorts. My grandmother got it from Lady Tula herself, long ago. The way Nanna told it, the Lady told her to 'Keep this key safe until the town has a need for dragonslayers again.' It will open her crypt. Now, no one has set foot in there for centuries--as far as I know, anyway--but there are likely to be traps and guardians to make sure that only the most capable dragonslayers can gain the treasures kept within. The contents would doubtless be of use to you, though. In return, you'll have to tell me the story." She giggles. "I know this is selfish, but there's something wonderful about this. I've never been threatened with death by a dragon--even an illusory one--before. Life can still surprise me, it seems."
Cora nods as she takes the key from Bassy. "We will do our best. Hopefully with all of these tools and this support we will be able to save everyone." And if not, they'd be dead.
Nezos hefts the sword and tries to keep his face sufficiently somber. "Many thanks. I'll try to use it in a manner befitting your legacy. Slaying a dragon or similar threat seems like a good start."
It takes the Baroness a moment to process Machi-e's question. "A grant of land is traditional, yes."
The most direct route to the ruined monastery is via the Old Quarry Road. Tula's crypt can be reached by taking that Road partway into the Dragonfen, then following Eskander Creek into the hills.
Rowane has no clue about the local area.
Cora nods. "The most direct route to the ruined monastery is via the Old Quarry Road. Tula's crypt can be reached by taking that Road partway into the Dragonfen, then following Eskander Creek into the hills."
"Dragonfen, eh? And a quarry? Well, that gives us some clues as to what will slither out to greet us."